


bouts of insomnia

by zeltra



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 19:20:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20158747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeltra/pseuds/zeltra
Summary: Byleth is scared for the future, but it's way too early to worry about such things.





	bouts of insomnia

**Author's Note:**

> :) i wrote this before going to sleep cuz i had Feelings that i needed it of my head. it's short sorry

_The archer in red pulls his bowstring back. His is a face you've never seen before, but it is quickly burned into your mind forever._

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_His bow is nocked with an infinite number of arrows, and his comrades stand behind him watching, proud smiles on their faces. For their friend and fellow soldier is the one who fell the Almyran bastard who dared go by the name Riegan. His is an arrow that spilled a mixed blood that had been used so well, only to be wasted here._

__

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_Your voice is raw as you try to scream, but you hear no sound other than metal piercing flesh and the grunt that ungracefully falls from the Duke's lips at contact. His sharp, green eyes go wide, staring in front of him, past the arrows lodged in his chest. The streams never end - those of incoming arrows and outpouring blood._

__

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_You see his face turn to you, eyes locked in a thousand-yard stare. His mouth begins to move, a small trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his lips. "By… Love…"_

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_"By…"_

"Byleth."

She felt that she was moving, and felt as though she was falling, when she finally opened her eyes with a sharp inhale. Blinking wildly and seeing only darkness in front of her, she went to sit up before something moved next to her. She whipped her head around to see-

His eyes. Glittering with worry in the low light.

"You're alright, By," he said, drowsiness making his voice lower and groggier than usual. "You were dreaming."

Byleth jumped at something touching her arm; it was only his hand, and he sat rubbing his thumb over the skin for a few moments.

"You were just dreaming…"

She looked back to his face, not able to see all the details on his face as she would like. She could barely make out the outline of his mess of heavy curls on his head.

Claude. Duke von Riegan, leader of the Leicester Alliance. Prince of Almyra.

_"Claude."_

His name came broken from her lips, dipped in desperation she didn't know she was feeling. Her hand found his cheek, cupping it softly as she leaned in closer to his face. She hovered right in front of him, only their noses touching. Her eyes fluttered shut as his hand covered her own on his face.

"What did you see, love?" he breathed, the warmth from his words spreading across her face.

Tipping her chin up the slightest bit, Byleth brushed her lips against his in a soft, chaste kiss. Her lips were much drier than his, but he didn't seem to mind at all. Only a moment passed before she pulled back, resting her head on his collar. He Claude cradled the back of her head with his hand, weaving his fingers into her hair.

"I thank Sothis… every day…" Byleth sniffled quietly, not wanting to cry on his bare shoulder. "If I didn't have my power… you could have…"

They sat in silence, Claude trying to pull his fingers through her hair to put some semblance back to it. He knew what she was going to say. He died in their last battle, and she had to watch it happen.

It was moments like this where Claude knew her power was a blessing and a curse. How many of their comrades had she watched die? How could they ever repay her for single-handedly saving them so many times?

He pressed a kiss into her hair. "Thank you, By. I'm sorry. But I'm right here. I'll always be here."

He could feel her shaking in his arms. He held her close as he laid back down, resting her head on his chest. A minute dragged by before she tried to speak. He almost missed it, she was so quiet.

"Don't promise that," she muttered. "We don't know how this war will end…"

"Yes, we do," he replied, his voice easily louder and clearer. "Where's my stubborn, determined Teach? What happened to our new dawn?"

"This is war, Claude," she whined. "We never know. And I can only change things so many times…"

Glancing at the woman in his embrace, he suddenly understood her thinking. With another kiss to her head, he held her even closer than before.

"You need to trust us," he whispered into her hair. "We're all too driven to die before the end of this war. Me, especially." Another kiss. He knew what he wanted to say - _I'll never leave your side._ But she was right; he couldn't say things like that. Who knew where they would be needed after the war? All he knew was the past and present, and that he loved the woman in his arms. "If fate should ever take me from you," he began, pausing as he felt her grip on his shoulder tighten, "it'll only be temporary. I'm not going to die on you."

Byleth's eyes started to flutter shut, his heartbeat singing her to sleep again. She rested her palm on his bare chest.

"You better not be lying to me, von Riegan."


End file.
